Whole house Sonos & A/V help
Discussion
All,
I am currently in the process of renovating an Edwardian house in London and am lucky enough to be able to get all of my cabling and A/V setup perfectly for the first time in my life. I'm a longtime user of Sonos gear and pretty impressed with it and now looking to plumb the whole house with a few rooms featuring in ceiling speakers. I've searched here but haven't found many threads specifically on the Sonos amp and in ceiling / in bathroom setups so I wondered if anyone could check my understanding / offer some tips?
1) My plan is to have a central hub (in the utility room) in which the Sonos amps all live and then run speaker cable (12 gauge) to the various in ceiling speakers - is this the best way to do things rather than site the amps in the rooms?
2) Is the Sonos amp with the sonance speakers a great combo? Have people used them in bathrooms or are there other (cheaper) suggestions?
3) Given they are expensive and having a set for bedroom and ensuite seems like overkill - have people split L/R channel between bedroom / bathroom?
4) I plan to use one amp to drive 4 speakers in the kitchen - given the Sonance at 8 Ohm this seems perfectly sensible but is there anything I need to be aware of?
5) Any recommendations for a place to bulk purchase all of the kit?
Lots of Cat 6 being run around the house and wireless access points for other Sonos separates dotted about the house - keen to use the in-ceiling option only where it really makes a difference due to the significant expense!
Many thanks in advance - any and all help / tips much appreciated.
I am currently in the process of renovating an Edwardian house in London and am lucky enough to be able to get all of my cabling and A/V setup perfectly for the first time in my life. I'm a longtime user of Sonos gear and pretty impressed with it and now looking to plumb the whole house with a few rooms featuring in ceiling speakers. I've searched here but haven't found many threads specifically on the Sonos amp and in ceiling / in bathroom setups so I wondered if anyone could check my understanding / offer some tips?
1) My plan is to have a central hub (in the utility room) in which the Sonos amps all live and then run speaker cable (12 gauge) to the various in ceiling speakers - is this the best way to do things rather than site the amps in the rooms?
2) Is the Sonos amp with the sonance speakers a great combo? Have people used them in bathrooms or are there other (cheaper) suggestions?
3) Given they are expensive and having a set for bedroom and ensuite seems like overkill - have people split L/R channel between bedroom / bathroom?
4) I plan to use one amp to drive 4 speakers in the kitchen - given the Sonance at 8 Ohm this seems perfectly sensible but is there anything I need to be aware of?
5) Any recommendations for a place to bulk purchase all of the kit?
Lots of Cat 6 being run around the house and wireless access points for other Sonos separates dotted about the house - keen to use the in-ceiling option only where it really makes a difference due to the significant expense!
Many thanks in advance - any and all help / tips much appreciated.
Not an expert but had a similar thing done. I ran Blucube ceiling speakers off the amp and are just fantastic. Cheaper than the Sonos ceiling speakers - my local shop advised me to although didn’t sell them as a Sonos specialist
Also have a couple of Moves which are great plus sound bar. All just awesome.
The moves are great for this weather and have a better sound than the smaller Sonos speakers
Also have a couple of Moves which are great plus sound bar. All just awesome.
The moves are great for this weather and have a better sound than the smaller Sonos speakers
I have installed many Bowers and Wilkins Speakers for jobs like this. Not cheap but another option.
Have a look at single 8” speakers that do stereo. They are ideal for rooms like bathrooms and utility.
When working out ceiling fixtures bear in mind the beams. Speakers often end up misplaced because of this. Start with the speakers and work back IMHO.
Are you rack mounting or wall mounting the Sonos amps? If wall mounting bear in mind you will need a rack for your IP patch panel anyway.
Have a look at single 8” speakers that do stereo. They are ideal for rooms like bathrooms and utility.
When working out ceiling fixtures bear in mind the beams. Speakers often end up misplaced because of this. Start with the speakers and work back IMHO.
Are you rack mounting or wall mounting the Sonos amps? If wall mounting bear in mind you will need a rack for your IP patch panel anyway.
I would echo what has been said here.
The Sonos branded Sonance Speakers seem very expencive for what they are and I would like to see them try to agrue what 'technology' is in them that make them 'work' with the sonos AMP.
Plenty of other brands around that would at least offer the same performance as the Sonos ones, dare I say better? Even Sonance own brand!
Also consider bigger speaker diameters in rooms you want more punch, they have bigger mid/bass drivers so have more depth to their sound. Or look to pair them with a sub.
Cable route wise, it depends on the number of cables and the ease with which you can get them to a single central hub. Certainly I have split them up before because of cable volume and / or routes. Just make sure you get some data cables between the Sonos locations so that you can get them off the wifi.
Happy to help with a design and anything else going forward if you want.
V.
The Sonos branded Sonance Speakers seem very expencive for what they are and I would like to see them try to agrue what 'technology' is in them that make them 'work' with the sonos AMP.
Plenty of other brands around that would at least offer the same performance as the Sonos ones, dare I say better? Even Sonance own brand!
Also consider bigger speaker diameters in rooms you want more punch, they have bigger mid/bass drivers so have more depth to their sound. Or look to pair them with a sub.
Cable route wise, it depends on the number of cables and the ease with which you can get them to a single central hub. Certainly I have split them up before because of cable volume and / or routes. Just make sure you get some data cables between the Sonos locations so that you can get them off the wifi.
Happy to help with a design and anything else going forward if you want.
V.
Thanks for all the replies - glad I'm going down roughly the right path.
Biggest revelation was the stereo drivers (thanks chasingracecars) - reckon that had saved me quite a lot of money and hassle.Plan is to rack mount the amps in the utility room. Also glad to hear the Move is well thought of - will probably plump for one of those next summer.
Many thanks to VEX as well - we've had a quick chat offline; good old Pistonheads!
Biggest revelation was the stereo drivers (thanks chasingracecars) - reckon that had saved me quite a lot of money and hassle.Plan is to rack mount the amps in the utility room. Also glad to hear the Move is well thought of - will probably plump for one of those next summer.
Many thanks to VEX as well - we've had a quick chat offline; good old Pistonheads!
Meant to add if installing speakers in the Kitchen or in rooms with bedrooms above consider installing hoodies I’ve the speaker backs.
First link that came up...
https://www.ceiling-speakers.co.uk/collections/fir...
First link that came up...
https://www.ceiling-speakers.co.uk/collections/fir...
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